#scriptdiana

[scriptblossom]

All For You

Finally, he’s home.

With lyrics from “All For You” by Seo Inguk and Jung Eunji 

It’s already been a few days since you haven’t called

Sakura stares at the phone in her hand. It was a foreign object to her almost and even though it’s been six months, she still wasn’t quite sure how it worked. Actually, that was a lie. She knew how it worked. She just didn’t have the courage to dial his number yet. She flips the phone cover up and stare at the screen as it stares back at her. The time reflects back and tells her it is almost 10 pm. In the corner of the screen, the date is shown. 

Do you know that it’s my birthday soon?

March 27. Her birthday was tomorrow. She stares at her phone again, willing it to ring. It doesn’t. Sakura sighs as she tosses the phone onto her bed. Sasuke had been back for almost a week now and she thought everything was fine between the two of them. They had converse a lot through letters and mail by hawk but since he had returned to the village, he became distant and cold. 

But time keeps ticking without concern

Sakura wasn’t sure what changed. She was sure she didn’t change. Did that mean he had? It worries her and bugs her and as she stares at the small clock on her dresser, she is only reminded of the time again. In the confinement of her bedroom with the lights off and just the light from the outside street lamp, she could feel the walls almost closing in on her. Tick, tick, tick went the second hand of her clock. A constant reminder that time will continue to go on without concern. Worry fills the pit of her stomach. 

Because I was more worried than annoyed

She gets up in the dark as she walks to her front door. Quickly, she makes up her mind as she slips her feet into her shoes. Throwing the door open, she runs out into the street. Without a moment’s hesitation, her steps echoes throughout the empty streets as she runs to the only place her heart knows right now.

I went to the entrance of your street without planning it

Coming to a slow stop, she finds herself standing outside of Sasuke’s apartment. Her emerald eyes just stares at the front door as she contemplates on whether to knock or just leave. So she just stands there for another five minutes with a hand raised about to knock but never really reaching to that point. 

Slowly, she lowers her hand and her back turns to leave. It was late. Sasuke was most likely asleep. She could try tomorrow morning. As she turns to walk back out into the street, she hears the door open behind her. 

“Sakura?”

Turning slowly to the sound of her name, she is both surprised and glad to see him. Sasuke stands at the door, seemingly with the same expression as her on his face. She didn’t know how to react. She wasn’t expecting to see him at all so she could only sort of gape at him. But when his face turns into a soft smile, her heart quickly melts into relief and that worrisome feeling in the pit of her stomach dissipates.

I didn’t think I’d see you but you greeted me with a smile

Sasuke didn’t know why he opened the door that night. He thought he heard movement outside his place but he didn’t care enough to bother to check it out. More so, he was staring at the clock in his kitchen and counting down the minutes. In just an hour, it would be Sakura’s birthday. 

Actually, I worried about this a lot

He should have contacted her earlier on in the week. But he didn’t. Coming back had made him realize how different things were in the village. It was difficult adjusting and even more difficult facing everyone and everything he had left behind for so long. 

The stares he get from the other villagers weren’t as bad as they used to be. Many are surprised to see him but they don’t look at him with fear like they used to. Still, everyone in town is a gossip and word of him staying for good spread throughout the village like wildfire. 

He didn’t care for the gossip or what people said. It was more of coming to terms with the fact that he was finally settling down. For so long, he had been traveling and was never in one place too long. He didn’t have a reason to stay in any place too long. 

Until now. 

Sasuke just stares at Sakura as she stares back at him. Finally, he breaks the stare and gives her a smile. He was happy to see her. He wanted to see her and the fact that she came to find him made him feel more at ease at what he was about to do. 

“I’m... sorry,” he starts. It was a good start. He had a lot to apologize for. He knew he wasn’t exactly Mr. Friendly with her when he first came back. “I didn’t treat you as nice as I should have.”

Sakura sort of laughs at this. “When have you ever?” she jokes. Despite her joking temperament and quiet laughter, Sasuke could tell that she was forcing a pretense. Deep down, she was still hurt and bothered and confused in general. It was uncanny how perceptive he had gotten just now. Perhaps it only works with Sakura. He usually doesn’t have much luck with other people.

“You’re right,” he agrees. “I kept my distance.”

An expression of confusion and sadness crosses Sakura’s face. “Why?” she asks softly.

Because I had nothing I could do for you

Taking a step forward, he closes the slight gap between the two of them as he stands directly in front of her. 

Because I have fallen for you. And I’m scared. 

Even though I lack so much and I don’t have much

He locks his eyes with hers. The words remain stuck in the back of his throat.

She stares up at him, her emerald eyes cloudy with confusion. But she takes a step closer towards him. Slowly, she holds out her hand as she takes his hand in hers. He didn’t realize how cold his hand was until he felt her warmth radiating from the palms of her two hands. 

“Did you know? Even when you don’t speak, your eyes say so much. Before, they used to be cold and hard as if you hated the world.” 

Slowly, she finds her words as she replies with certainty. “Stay by my side,” she whispers. “You don’t have to answer the reason why. Just stay by my side.” Her eyes brim with tears but she never breaks her gaze with his.

Will you still accept me?

Sasuke leans forward as his lips come just centimeters away from Sakura’s own. “Don’t let go,” he whispers.

It was always you.

[scriptblossom]

Letters

Sakura,

While I know this is not the best way to say goodbye I can’t think of how else to tell you Let’s just say that I was never one to be good with words Leaving wasn’t an easy decision to make

You also were never an easy decision to begin with Only you were ever able to make me stop and question myself Undeniably, that was the most annoying thing about you 

Maybe that’s why I tried to push you away Away from you, away from friends, and away from Konoha Revenge was the only thing on my mind at the time Right now though... there’s something else on my mind You seem to come into my thoughts a lot these days...

Missing you will be the hardest thing ever Especially since that someone is you

-Sasuke

Sakura stares at the note for the tenth time that night as she tries to let everything that happened today sink into her memory. Sasuke had just left hours ago and now she was sitting in her bedroom and rereading a note that he had somehow left in her room the night before when she was away at the hospital.

Her concentration breaks away though when she is alerted to a sound outside her window. Quickly, she jumps up as she draws a kunai by instinct. The kunai drops to the floor with a thud.

“Sasuke-kun!” she gasps. Sure enough, there he was, standing there before her on the balcony outside her window. “Didn’t you just leave?”

“I did... but I needed to know your answer so I came back. I thought I could be patient but I’m not..”

“My answer...” her voice trails off as she looks back down at the note in her hand. She traces her finger over the letters of the note, pausing ever so slightly over the beginning of every sentence. “How about I write it down for you,” she whisper softly.  

Sasuke-kun...

You’re an idiot to think that there is anyone other than you Even if you run to the ends of the earth So help me God, I will run after you

-Sakura

Sasuke stares at the reply letter as if trying to process every word and letter or perhaps engraining it to his memory. Finally, he breaks the silence. “Even if I’m leaving?”

“My answer remains the same.”

“And you won’t know when I might be back?”

“My answer still remains the same.”

“I... feel like I should have something for you.” He looks around his bag as if searching for something. “I should have came prepared with something...” he mumbles.

Sakura grabs his hand to stop him. He glances up. With a smile, Sakura leans forward and gives him a sweet peck on the lips. “Let’s just seal it with this kiss.”

His face blushes in shock.

“I-I have to go...” Sasuke says. A look of sorrow crosses his features as he holds Sakura’s hand in his with a wistful remorse.

“I know,” Sakura responds in understanding. She watches as Sasuke slowly lets go of her hand and turns his back towards her.

“Sasuke-kun,” she calls out to him as he takes one step out away from her. He turns around at the sound of his name.

Sakura smiles. “You have to go and I have to stay here in Konoha. But wherever you are, just remember that I’ll always find you.”

“You always do.”

[scriptblossom]

2½ minutes

“Since when did I become Kakashi-sensei’s delivery girl?” Sakura murmurs as she stares at the scroll in her lap. She had only dropped by this seaside town to pick up a special order of medicinal herbs but when Kakashi had heard of her trip out, he had unloaded some packages on her to deliver. 

Sakura sighs as she stares out at the glittering blue sea before her. Whoever was supposed to meet her there was already more than half an hour late. She hears a slight movement behind her as someone clears their throat. 

“You’re late,” Sakura states. “I’ve been waiting for---” her words cut off as she sees who it is. “S-sasuke-kun?”

“Sakura.” He winces slightly as he makes his way around the bench where she was sitting. 

“You’re injured!” Sakura exclaims as her eyes scan his body for the injury.

“I’m fine,” he insists as he tugs his cloak closer around his body but Sakura was not one to be fooled by his words. She ignores his protests as she lifts up the cloak and sees a bloodstain forming near his abdominal area. 

“Is this why you were late?”

He doesn’t respond but she takes his silence as a yes. Slowly, she reaches her hand out as a soft glowing light emits from her hand as she begins to heal up his wound. 

“What happened?” she asks, her voice soft but filled with worry. 

“I tripped on the ground,” he answers.

Sakura couldn’t help but crack a slight smile at his joke, however bad it may be. She pulls out the scroll from behind her. “Kakashi-sensei sent this for you.”

Sasuke nods as he takes the scroll and opens it up to look at the contents.

“What does it say?” Sakura asks.

Sasuke doesn’t reply as he rolls the scroll back up. “Can you pass a message along back to Kakashi?”

“What is it?”

“I do.”

Sakura looks up at him quizzically but nods. “Okay, I’ll tell him that.”

Sasuke looks down at his wound as he sees that it has now disappeared as if it was never there to begin with. “Thank you.”

“How long can you stay here?” she asks.

“I have to go now. It takes another half a day to get to the next place.”

Sakura nods as she watches Sasuke stand up to go. He turns around one last time to give her a soft gaze. “I’m glad I got to see you even for just a little bit.”

She smiles back at him. “Me too.” 

Then he was gone in a blink.

“Sensei, you knew and didn’t tell me?”

Kakashi turns around in his seat as he sees his former student staring down at him. He smiles. “Yo, you came back faster than expected.”

“Sasuke-kun couldn’t stay long.”

Kakashi shakes his head. “A pity.”

“He wanted to pass a message along to you. He said ‘I do’.”

Kakashi grins. “Thank you, Sakura.”

“That’s it? You’re not going to tell me more?” Sakura questions.

“It’s top secret,” Kakashi states as he says nothing more but the grin never leaves his face.

Sasuke leans back against a tree as he unrolls the scroll and looks at it again for a second time. 

Sasuke, here is the medicine you’ve requested. Hope you like it. 

-Kakashi

[scriptblossom]

Lean on Me

When Sasuke opened his eyes to the stream of daylight coming into his room, he immediately sensed that something was different about today. The person opening up the curtains was a blonde woman instead of the usual pink-haired doctor he was used to seeing each day. 

“You’re awake, Sasuke-kun.” He glances at her direction and it takes a momentary pause before he fully recognizes Ino without her full set of makeup on.

“Where’s Sakura?” he immediately questions.

“The hospital is understaffed so many of our patients today are in dire need of our top medic’s expertise,” Ino explains as she picks up a clipboard at the edge of his bed and begins to read through the details.

“You don’t look so good.” He could see the bags underneath Ino’s eyes. 

Ino gave a haggard smile. “Thanks for the compliment. I, at least, was able to catch a couple hours of zzz’s here and there. It’s Sakura that I’m worried about. I’m pretty sure she pulled several all nighters in the emergency room tending to the severely injured.”

“Where is she now?”

Ino glances at the clock. “If she’s a stickler like she always is, then hopefully on her 15 minute break to at least eat something for lunch.”

“You’re only giving her 15 minutes for lunch?” His words come out sharp as if he was scolding her.

“Hey, I’m the one insisting that she even takes a lunch. She thinks she’s super woman and can do everything without resting. For someone as smart as her, you would think she would listen to her own body first,” Ino says as she places the clipboard back down. “Someone will bring you your meal momentarily so hang tight. I have some more patients to check up on.”

Ino leaves the room and Sasuke watches her go. Once he sees the door closes behind her, Sasuke throws back the bedsheets as he hops off the bed. Quietly, he makes his way to the door as he opens it a crack and peeks outside. The hallway was silent and he could hear Ino’s footsteps disappearing around the corner. Ever so silently, he slips out of his room as he turns to go in the opposite direction that Ino went. 

As he heads down the hallway, he closes his eyes as he tries to concentrate to seek out Sakura’s signature chakra. It was faint but he could sense her nearby. He heads down a flight of stairs before coming to a long corridor. Against the backdrop of the white hospital walls, it wasn’t hard to spot the bright pink color at the end of the hallway. Sitting on an equally as white bench against the wall was Sakura with her head drifting down in slumber. A half eaten rice ball was clutched in one hand as her other hand held onto a small walkie talkie.

He goes to sit down beside her and as soon as he does, the walkie talkie in Sakura’s hand starts to beep. Quickly, he takes the device from her hand and answers it before it can make anymore noise. 

“Sakura-senpai! Can you come down to floor 3?” a male-sounding voice comes through on the other line.

He stares at the device in his hands as he presses the top button which he assumes is to answer. “Is it an emergency?” he asks as he speaks into it.

There was a brief silence before Sasuke hears a response. “H-hello? Who is this? Is this Sakura-senpai’s walkie?”

“Yes. Once again, I repeat... is it an emergency?”

“Uh.. no. But--”

“Then Sakura will contact you back later.” He clicks off the walkie talkie as he places it down besides him.

Sasuke turns his attention back to Sakura as he watches her head continue to drift up and down in her sleep. Slowly, he reaches out with his one good hand as he directs her head to lean against his shoulder. It is silent except for the sounds of her breathing and his own. He listens to her as she breathes in and out in a slow and steady, rhythmic pace. It is a stark contrast to the heavy rapid pounding of his heart against his chest. He knocks a hand against his chest as he wonders if he needs to get Sakura to check his heart condition to make sure his body is still functioning correctly. 

The minutes pass and Sasuke almost drifts off to sleep himself until he hears the crackling of noise coming from the walkie again. He must have not found the correct button for off. The noise this time was enough to wake up Sakura as her head jolts up and she almost bangs it against the wall.

He sticks his hand out in reflex as he catches the back of her head to prevent her from hitting the wall. 

“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura stares at him with a look of confusion written across her face. He figured she was still half-asleep since she looked almost lost as if she forgot where she was at too. The walkie talkie continued to buzz behind him and the sound must have fully awaken Sakura as she quickly reaches to answer the walkie talkie.

“Yes?”

“Sakura-senpai! Okay, it wasn’t an emergency before but now it is! Can you please come down to floor 3, please?!” The voice was now frantic and Sasuke almost felt slightly sorry for the guy he had previously ignored. Almost.

“I’m on my way. Relax, I’ll be there soon,” Sakura answers in a calming tone. It seems to do the trick because the voice on the other line calms down just a tad when he radios back.

Sakura lowers the walkie talkie down as she turns her attention to Sasuke. “What are you doing out of your room, Sasuke-kun? You aren’t feeling worse, are you?” She immediately goes into doctor mode as she slips the radio into her pocket and takes out a pen flashlight from the front outer pocket of her white coat. She clicks it and a bright light appears as she motions with one finger for him to open his mouth. 

Sasuke grabs her hand as he lowers her hand and the flashlight away from him. “I’m fine. I was just getting some... exercise.” That sounded more believable in his head than when said out loud. But Sakura didn’t seem to notice the difference as she nods and clicks her pen again so the light goes off. 

He realizes he is still holding her hand and he quickly releases it as he gives a slight cough and points down the hallway in a quick distraction. “You should probably get to the third floor. You seem to be really busy and that guy sounds like he is about to have a heart attack.”

“R-right!” Sakura quickly stands up as she walks a few steps towards the end of the corridor. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come visit you today. Things got really hectic and they need me to direct and monitor---”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” he interrupts her. “Just... maybe you should finish that.”

He points to the rice ball still clutched in Sakura’s left hand. She looks down at it as if she just noticed that it was in her hand. “Oh, right,” she says as she nods and waves to him before turning around to leave. 

“Good work today. You can all return home to your families tonight and get some well-deserved rest. You will be back to your rotating shifts tomorrow morning,” Sakura announces as she claps her hand to signal the end of her announcement. The team of eight she is addressing begins to cheer and clap in applause as they make celebratory sounds. 

“Sakura-senpai!” A young male runs up to her as he hands her his walkie talkie. “I will be returning this to you then for the night!”

She takes it from him. “Thank you.”

“By the way, who was that man on the walkie earlier today?”

“Hm, what man?”

“Uh... well... during your break time---”

“Sakura!” Another voice interrupts him and Sakura turns around as she sees Ino stomping towards her. 

“Ino, what---”

Ino grabs Sakura by the wrist as she drags Sakura out of the room. “You need rest, pronto!” 

“But I am well rested!” Sakura argues.   

“15 minutes is not well rested, Sakura!”

“I didn’t take 15 minutes,” Sakura stops as she wriggles her wrist out of Ino’s death grip.

Ino whirls around and crosses her arms. “Don’t lie to me, Sakura,” Ino warns.

“I took at least half an hour,” Sakura replies sheepishly. 

Ino throws up her hands in the air in frustration. “I can’t with you, Sakura. Really? Half an hour? That’s what you call well rested?” 

Sakura chuckles. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to get a good night’s rest like the rest of the team. I just need to make one last stop first for the night.”

The blonde wags a finger at Sakura. “Okay, I’m holding you to your words. I better not see you in your office doing paperwork into the night. And I wouldn’t even be able to check on you since I’ll be sleeping... which is what YOU should be doing as well.”

Sakura nods. “Yes, yes. Thank you, mother.” She motions with her hands for Ino to go and reluctantly, her blonde friend listens as Ino heads towards the stairs to go down. 

Sakura watches as Ino’s blonde hair disappears from sight before she makes her way up the stairs to the fifth floor. Walking down the hallway, she comes to a stop in front of a room at the end of the hall. Slowly, she slides open the door as she peers inside. The room was dark except for the moonlight coming through the window. She makes her way inside as she almost tiptoes to the window. Staring out the window, she admires the view of the village as the lights from homes twinkle in the distance. 

“What are you doing?”

The deep voice cuts through the silence as Sakura whirls around and comes face to face with Sasuke, who was sitting up in his bed. 

“Sasuke-kun! You’re awake!” her startled voice squeaks out.

“Ah, you weren’t very discreet coming in here,” he replies.

“I was tiptoeing!” Sakura protests.

Sasuke smiles smugly. “I know. It was a sight to see.”

There was a silent pause as Sasuke watches Sakura rack her brain for something to say. “So again, what are you doing here, Sakura?” Sasuke asks again.

“I was...” Sakura makes her way towards the edge of his bed. “... just checking up on you like I promised.” She absent-mindedly reaches for the clipboard of his stats. 

“You didn’t make such a promise to me,” he points out.

“Oh.” Sakura places the clipboard back down. She looks back at him. “Earlier today... were you there when I was sleeping?” her voice falters for a bit as if she was questioning her own question. “And not just for like a little bit...” she clarifies. “... but for a long while.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, dodging the question with another question.

“I don’t know...” her voice trails off. “I just had a really nice nap today. Short, but it was the longest sleep I had in a long while.” Sakura smiles in thought as she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

“You should sleep more,” Sasuke comments. “The doctors here make me do it and I think it is working,” he notes, wryly.

“Ha ha,” Sakura says as she acknowledges the dry humor in Sasuke’s words. “Everything I tell you is for your benefit, Sasuke-kun.”

“I know,” he says. His response is almost immediate and it briefly stuns Sakura into another silent spell again as the two of them stare at each other in the dark.

“Well? Aren’t you going to bed now?” he says as he breaks the silence once again.

“I’m not so tired anymore,” Sakura answers softly. 

“Then you can accompany me in my boredom.” Sasuke scoots himself a bit over as he makes a spot on the bed for Sakura to sit beside him. Slowly, Sakura makes her way over as she sits down on the bed. 

“What do you want to do?” she asks.

Sasuke shrugs. “I don’t know. Tell me about your day. That’s what Naruto does all the time when I try to pretend I’m sleeping.”

Sakura can’t help but burst into laughter at the thought of Sasuke with his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, while being fully annoyed at a chattery Naruto. But she begins to talk as she discusses her day and the hectic schedule she had going on the past few days. She talks until she doesn’t realized that her eyes were beginning to drift close and soon she knocks out.

Sasuke watches as Sakura’s head falls against his shoulder again. It lands with a soft thump and in the silence, all he can hear again was her breathing sounds mixing with the sound of his own breathing. He calmly lays his head against the wall behind him as he closes his eyes. He counts sheep in his head, he counts the number of beats his heart is making per second, and he counts the number of goosebumps he feels tingling on his arm at the slight touch of Sakura’s body leaning against him. With each count though, he loses track of time and slowly, he too, falls asleep with her.

[scriptblossom]

Chemistry

He slips something into the palm of her hand and she stares at it curiously. It was a small pendant with no chain or hook. She turns it over it her hand to examine it in close detail. He had handed her a pendant of the Uchiha crest.

Sasuke clears his throat as he stuffs his mittened hands back into the pockets of his coat. “You can keep it... or throw it away... or keep it,” he mutters.

“You already said the last part earlier,” she tells him as she smiles and plays with the pendant and rolls it around in her palm.

He rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet as he glances up at the sky before answering her. “Just giving you options.”

Sakura nods as she pockets the pendant. Sasuke watches carefully as he lowers his scarf from his face. “Are you accepting the responsibility in keeping that?”

“You didn’t say there were strings attached,” Sakura retorts.

He scoffs. “Of course there are strings.”

She smiles as she strokes her chin. “It couldn’t be something corny like ‘spending the rest of my life with you’ could it?”

Sasuke bites his lip as he brings a mittened hand to hide his already reddening face. Quickly, he reaches into Sakura’s pocket in an attempt to get the pendant back. It proved to be difficult with just mittens on, however, and Sakura immediately reacts as she hops back and grabs his wrist at the same time. “Give it back to me,” he orders. “It’s too corny. I can’t do it.”

She laughs as she fights him off. "Come on, you can say it!”

“No.” He was always a stubborn one. He sits down on the bench behind them as he crosses his leg and looks away. Expressing himself outwardly was always difficult for him. 

“I love it, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura smiles as she comes to sit down beside him.

“Good, ‘cause there’s only one of that in the entire world.”

Sakura nods as she clutches the pendant tightly in her hand. She leans her head against his shoulder as she opens up her palm to admire the pendant again in the light. “Yes,” she says.

“Yes to what?” he asks as he turns to her.

“To spending the rest of my life with you. I thought I would just put it out there so you would know in case you didn’t.”

“Then yes too.”

“Yes to what?” she asks him back.

“Yes, I love you.”

Sakura seems surprised at his words but a huge smile spreads across her face. “I thought you didn’t like saying corny stuff?” she teases as she pokes him in the arm, clearly both pleased and prodding him for more.

“I don’t. But I thought I would just put it out there so you would know in case you didn’t.”

With a soft smile, Sakura slips her mittened hand into his as she leans her head once more against his shoulder. “I do,” she murmurs as she closes her eyes. 

[scriptblossom]

Lights Out, Words Gone

“Sasuke---”

Sakura’s head turns as she whirls around to see who was outside her balcony. “Oh, Naruto...” her voice drops in disappointment when she sees who it was. “You know I have a door, right?”

“I didn’t want to wake up Sarada. Can I come in?” Naruto asks.

Sakura walks to the balcony door as she opens it all the way for him. 

“What were you doing in the dark?” Naruto asks. He doesn’t make any effort to go inside as he stays perched on the balcony sill. 

“Looking at the moon,” she answers as she now begins to stare up at the night sky. “How is he?”

Naruto smiles. “Same as always. He’s a man of few words.” Naruto falls silent and Sakura could tell that he was trying to word his next sentence. “Sasuke wanted to give you a message. He wanted to tell you he’s sorry... for everything.”

Sakura nods as she absent-mindedly continues to stare out at the moon in the sky.

“Sakura-chan... I’m sorry too,” Naruto continues.

“For what?”

“As Hokage... I can’t help but feel like this is my fault. Keeping your family separated. For keeping him from you. From Konoha. From Sarada.”

Sakura closes her eyes. “Don’t be. He’s fighting for us. To protect me. Konoha. Sarada. I would do the same in a heartbeat if I could. But I’m not Sasuke-kun. Only he can do what is needed to be done. I’m every bit proud of him and who he is today.”

Naruto keeps silent but a smile slowly spreads across his face.  “How is Sarada doing?” he asks.

“She misses him. We both do. I can tell she has so much she wants to know about him. She keeps quiet though, just like her father, but I can see it in her eyes.”

Naruto nods as he looks up at the moon also. “I should get going. It’s late and...”

Sakura nods. “Your family is waiting for you. Good night Naruto.”

“Good night, Sakura-chan.” And with that said, he was gone in a poof.

“I miss you too.” As soon as Naruto’s clone was gone, she sees Sasuke appear on their balcony.

She shakes her head at him and gives a small chuckle. “What was the point of giving Naruto a message to pass on to me if you were going to come here yourself?” she asks.

Sasuke looks up at the night sky. “You can only send so much in a message. Some things are better off said yourself.”

“Like what?”

“Like this.” He pulls Sakura in as he leaves a soft kiss on her forehead.

Sakura could feel her face growing slightly flushed as she returns his kiss with a hug. “Those aren’t words,” she murmurs against his chest.

“I’m a man of few words.”

She only smiles as she gives him a tighter hug. 

After a moment of silence of just the two of them hugging, Sasuke speaks up again. “I have to go now.”

“I know,” Sakura answers.

“Tell Sarada...”

Sakura pulls away from him as she looks up at his face. “Tell her what?”

He smiles as he pokes Sakura gently on the forehead. “This.” And then he too was gone with the night.

Sakura reaches her hand up to touch upon the very spot he had last left his presence. She could still feel the warmth of his fingers. “We love you too,” she whispers into the night. 

[scriptblossom]

Something More

Sakura had been unusually quiet today. Or maybe it was just that she seemed lost in thought today. He wouldn’t say more so than usual though. For the past week since they started to travel together, she had been seemingly lost in her own thoughts as if she was carefully thinking over what she was going to say next. 

He watches from the corner of his eye as she starts to peel an apple in her hands. Maybe he was thinking too much about it. He begins to lower his gaze back down to his book but in that split moment, he senses it-- the break in Sakura’s concentration. His eyes return back to her as he sees her cut herself with the knife in her hands. It almost takes Sakura a full two seconds later before she realizes it. She really was spacing out.

Suddenly, he feels quite frustrated as he puts his book aside on the ground and stands up. He watches as a drop of blood drips down to the apple in her hand. The sight seems to snap her back to reality as she drops the apple and lets it roll down to around her feet. A second later, she begins to heal her wound with her chakra. It was frustrating to him to see such carelessness from her. 

“You should be careful. Even if you can heal yourself, I rather you stay uninjured,” he finds himself speaking without realizing it as he picks up the apple from the floor.

“Sorry,” Sakura mumbles. “I was thinking...” she trails off as she takes the apple from his hand. Her apology was different from her usual bubbly persona. There was something bothering her.

“Thinking about what?” There it is again. He was asking more than he thought he would.

“About... us.” 

Her answer catches him off-guard. This was why he didn’t want to ask her any unnecessary questions. He didn’t want to have this talk just yet. He wasn’t ready at the moment. 

“Sasuke-kun... I like you,” Sakura says softly.

“I know.” Oh, how he painfully knows this fact. He knows she was wanting a response. She wanted to know his feelings towards her. Frankly, he didn’t quite know himself either. He knows he cares for her more than just a friend. Was it love? He wasn’t really sure. He just didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Not until he was sure. 

When Sakura had found him in the midst of his travels and asked to join, he was caught in a mix of emotions ranging from pleased to displeased. His journey was one for atonement and one of the person he had wanted to atone for was her. In fact, she was the hardest. It was different with Naruto or Kakashi or anyone else. Even if he remained apathetic, he knew they wouldn’t leave him. But for Sakura... he had to do something more. He had to prove himself worthy. He knew she wouldn’t leave him as a friend. But would she see him as something more than a friend? 

It was frustrating to him. Why was he even worrying about this? He thought it would just fall naturally and happen in its due course. But with all that has happened, he hadn’t realized how much time has flown by. How they were at an age where they could get married. He hadn’t always thought of Sakura in that way. He saw her as a friend and a teammate and someone he could confide in. But seeing her as a woman was a different thing. Sakura was undeniably harder to read when he thought of her as a woman. It made him question everything. What he should say, what he should do, what he should even wear each day in the morning. Of course, the latter proved to be easy when you’re left with minimal choices. 

“Y-you know?” Sakura seemed embarrassed of this fact and very shyly, she brushes a strand of her hair back as she tucks it behind one ear before changing her mind and fixing it again so that it was covering her ear again. She seemed to be fumbling around with her hands as she picks up the paring knife that was sitting on her lap. Quickly, he takes the knife away from her as he worries that she would accidentally stab herself again in the frazzled condition she was in.

He places the knife down on the table beside her as his back is turned towards her. Of course he knows. He always knew. 

“What am I to you, Sasuke-kun?” she asks softly. 

He turns back to look at her. “You’re Sakura.”

She gives him a soft gaze back but he could see the corner of her mouth lift up in a small smile. 

“What?” he questions.

“My name. I like hearing you say it. You’re usually so crude with your speech when you address other people.”

He gives a small snort. That was the understatement of the year. 

“Sasuke-kun, do you consider us friends?”

He pulls out the second chair besides her as he sits down, facing her. “Of course.”

He could tell she was neither pleased nor displeased from that answer. Sakura opens her mouth again to say something but she then hesitates. The slight pause of silence was enough to make Sakura second guess her next question as she decides to change the subject. “What would you like for dinner, Sasuke-kun?”

Normally, he would be relieved at the subject change. But he knew that if he ignored it this time, he might never get this chance again. He wish he knew the right words to say to let her know what she meant to him. But somehow, words always seemed to get in the way. He was never good with words. 

“You mean much more than just a friend.”

Sakura looks at him, stunned at his response. “Huh?” the word escapes her lips and she seemed to be unaware that she let that slipped out. There is a long pause as she just looks at him in shock. Finally, she seems to find her concentration again as she tries to formulate the words swarming in her head. “Are you saying... I mean... am I... something more... than just a friend to you?”

“Sakura...” He locks eyes with her and he couldn’t help but fall into the reflection of her emerald eyes. She seems to be just as captivated and as he leans closer to her face, he could see her begin to close her eyes as if in anticipation for something. 

He was just inches away from her face. The faint smell of flowers hits him in the nose as he inhales deeply and is lured in by her sweet scent. He knew if he did anything more, everything would change from this moment on. He just wasn’t ready for that yet. Slowly, he lifts up his hand and with two fingers, he gently taps her on the forehead.

She reels back from the touch and her eyes fly open in surprise. Instinctively, both her arms come up as her fingers press against the spot where he last touched. 

“Should we eat yakiniku tonight?”

Sakura seems to be confused but she nods slowly as she lowers down her arms. He stands up as he heads for the door of their inn room.

“You mean something more to me too!” she blurts out from behind him.

He pauses in his steps but he gives a small smile although his back is to her. Turning his head around, he looks at her. “You don’t say that to every guy, do you?” he questions her.

She is caught off-guard by his response but she laughs as she gets up and walks to the door. Placing her hand on the doorknob, she turns back to look at him. “Only you. It’s always been only you.”

He smiles as she heads out the door. Following closely behind her, he whispers in a low voice so that only she could hear. “Same.”

[scriptblossom]

Thank You

Finding a person was more difficult than she would have imagined. Especially if that person was Uchiha Sasuke. It’s been two months now and she was still nowhere close to figuring out where on earth Sasuke could be by now in his travels. Sakura was beginning to think that she may have been too hasty when she made the decision to leave Konoha on her own in search of him.

Sakura walks slowly through the new town she just arrived at. She was short on supplies and money at this point. She takes out a small pouch from her bag as she checks the inside contents. With a frown, she sighs. She needed to start making money fast. Throughout her travels, she had stopped to help those in need of medical treatment. Often, she refused their money and instead only accepted food or lodging. 

‘Then how can you be low on money?’ the little voice in the back of her mind asks. Sakura sighs again as she lowers her head. The hood of her cloak falls over her eyes as she walks glumly towards a food stall. “Because I accidentally destroyed the town hall,” she mumbles. She hadn’t mean to but at the last town she was at, she had saw a group of thugs bothering a young woman and without thinking, she charged in and gave them all a good beating and effectively destroying part of the town hall in the process. Luckily, no one else was injured. Although the mayor told her not to worry about it, she ended up feeling guilty and helped foot the bill for repairs. 

“Look, is that the person?”

“Mm, from... Konoha? Was it?”

Sakura’s ears perk up as she hears a group of women whispering and gossiping to each other near the food stalls. Were they talking about her? Did news of her destroying the town hall travel to this town so fast? Was she going to be kicked out of here before she even find a place to stay?

She pulls the hood of her cloak even lower as she tries to hide all traces of her pink hair to keep it from showing. Then she begins to scold herself. She wasn’t a fugitive. Why should she be scared? Yet, she did feel slightly ashamed for her reckless temperament that brought her to this mess in the first place. If the town was this gossipy about her, it would make it harder for her to dig up information on Sasuke. 

She approached the food stall as her eyes glanced at the food for sale. Her mouth was salivating by now and quickly, she sticks out a hand to point out the item she wanted. “One yakisoba bun, please,” she orders. As the stall owner wraps up her bun, Sakura opens up her small money pouch again as she gingerly takes out the coins inside. 

Before she could pay, someone from behind her drops some coins in the hand of the stall owner and takes the wrapped bun. 

“Hey, that’s supposed to be mine!” Sakura shouts as she whirls around to see who dared try to steal her bun away.

She only gapes when she sees who it was. She blinks once and then brings two hands to rub her eyes to double check that her vision hadn’t gone bad.

“Here.” 

The yakisoba bun was now in front of her face. She takes it in stunned silence. “Thank you,” she says in disbelief. 

A murmur of whispers get louder as the group of gossiping women continue to chatter on the side. “It’s him, right?”

“Yes, Uchiha Sasuke, isn’t it?”

Sakura turns to look the women for a moment but they seem to pay no attention to her. So they weren’t talking about her after all. She turns back to look at the man who was now walking away from her. It is him. It really is.

She runs towards him, her feet practically leaping off the ground, her two hands still clutched on the yakisoba bun he gave her. The hood of her cloak flies back behind her to reveal her pink hair as her tresses dance in the wind. 

The man stops in his footsteps as he turns back and looks at her. She stops when he stops and for a moment, they stare at each other. Then he directs a small smile at her and she smiles back. 

She had been looking at all the wrong places. She didn’t need to find him. He had found her.

‘Thank you, Sasuke-kun.’